Love in the Form of a Rebuke

One of the more difficult aspects of being a cell group leader based on my experience is in the area of correcting and rebuking the young men under me. The frequent questions that come to my mind whenever I sense that one of the guys need 'a talk' are: "Lord, is this you wanting to correct them?", "how do I rebuke in love?", and "how far does the spiritual spanking go?"

I'm still somewhat getting used to the truth that discipline is a part of loving someone, and being a single guy with no biological children pretty much lends itself to the challenge of learning how to dispense rebuke with a father's heart. But as a leader and a maturing Christian who continues to learn daily, I want to immerse myself in all the ways that I can grow. This area of rebuking the ones I love is definitely one I need to learn more of.

Being submitted to a cell group leader myself has taught me that receiving rebuke is part of the discipleship process. As I have several times been corrected by my leaders, I have not only become better in the areas where wrongs were set straight but I have also become wiser and more equipped to administer admonitions.

I have had the privilege of talking to some of the guys in the cell group to point out certain behaviors and attitudes that are not in alignment with God's word. Most of the time I approach this situation with fear and trembling. But whenever I ask the Holy Spirit to check the motives of my heart before taking time to rebuke someone, I get reminded that the Bible tells us to teach a child what is right so that he will not deviate from it later on (Proverbs 22:6), and that even God the Father disciplines us when we go wrong because He loves us (Proverbs 3:11-12).

When these words come alive in my heart, I begin to get the assurance that, like my Father in heaven, I am correcting one of my guys out of love, out of the desire to see them become better than they are now and become the men God made them to be. I believe that when I admonish them in accordance to God's word, I am doing what I see my Father do - showing love in every possible way, even if it means meting out reproof.

There is still a lot for me to learn about the whole "discipline-the-ones-you-love" aspect of leadership, but I find encouragement in Proverbs 27:5, which says, "Open rebuke is better than secret love." I hope you do too.

Notes on ADTT Kingdom Series

- from the Kingdom Series lessons taught by Pastor Joseph DiSarno during the Apostolic Discipleship Training Track classes of batch A3


Introduction to Kingdom Concepts
June 18, 2008

- Jesus starts His ministry by declaring, “The Kingdom of God is at hand.”

- later on He says, “the Kingdom of God is among you.”

- the Kingdom of God is NOW but NOT YET

- the Kingdom has to be PROCLAIMED and DEMONSTRATED

- the word “kingdom” in Greek is VASÍLEION, which means “a political domain with boundaries and borders”; the rule of the King”

- Jesus demonstrated the Kingdom by exerting His authority over the elements, sin, demons, sickness, the harvest and different aspects of life on earth

- the purpose of bringing God’s Kingdom to the earth is to restore His ORIGINAL INTENT for Creation

- KINGDOM, COVENANT and the HOLY SPIRIT are important concepts in getting a complete understanding of the Kingdom of God


Kingdom Concepts
July 8, 2008

- LOYALTY
o Genesis 39 – the life of Joseph
o Be LOYAL to those above you
o Loyalty is required in the Kingdom
o Loyalty picks up the one who is down

- LEADERSHIP
o Servant leadership is doing what is good for many
o Serving the people, but not servants of the people
o Matthew 20:29
o We must lead to make those under us great

- SUBMISSION
o Stay under authority to be in authority
o The centurion, who was a man under submission, understood the concept of authority
o Matthew 25:14, Luke 19:11-27
o People under submission are covered

- FAITHFULNESS
o Trustworthiness
o You must increase what God gives you
o Use the little that you have and God will give you more
o Faithfulness leads to promotion


The Parable of the Sower
July 16, 2008

- Matthew 13

- Jesus used parables to CONCEAL and REVEAL the secrets of the Kingdom

- John the Baptist announced the coming of the Kingdom

- People were expecting the Kingdom of God to be a political one

- Parables reveal the state of one’s heart and show what Heaven is like

- Jesus left the earth promising the seed of the Kingdom, the HOLY SPIRIT

Give It Away, Give It Away, Give It Away Now!

Denny Cline: "Elisha Rising—What Do You Have that the Next Generation Needs?"

Remember the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal? What an amazing encounter and kingdom confrontation. It was clearly one of Elijah's most memorable feats and what many see as the high point of his ministry. Yet, when John the Baptist comes on the scene as a forerunner to the ministry of Jesus, he was said to have come in the spirit of Elijah. What was the purpose? It was to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers. This turning was seen as essential to the release of the ministry of Jesus Christ who would both teach and demonstrate the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.

After his great victory at Mount Carmel, Elijah experienced a demonic attack, sending him running in fear and despair to a cave with a death threat over his life. In his state of mind, Elijah felt alone, finished and hopeless. But God finally opened his heart to see that the most important influence he would have was yet to come. Elijah would then go on to form four schools of the prophets, and in particular, mentor a young man named Elisha. I believe this story represents something very important for the Church—the Body of Christ today. Jesus is leading many sons and daughters to glory as it says in Hebrews 2:10, and He is doing it in partnership with fathers and mothers in the faith who have been experiencing the glory of God in this present generation.

The Ministry of Elijah and the Ministry of Elisha

More was accomplished by Elijah pouring into the next generation than his own personal ministry exploits had recorded. So too, will more be accomplished by fathers and mothers in the Church by pouring into the next generation—helping them step into their calling with wisdom, support, and loving relationships to fall back on.

In this day and age of so much "fatherlessness" it is ever so crucial for the Church not to mirror our modern-day culture in this regard. So, here are some questions we must ask:

• What are some of the things we can do to help young leaders emerge and succeed?

• Is the Body of Christ aware of how many young leaders are already stepping into their callings with a great deal to offer now—not just in the future?

• Are we ready to put our money and time where we say our hearts are?

• Do we realize what a double portion really represents?

Although both Elijah and Elisha worked signs and wonders, Elisha was more prolific. Further, Jehu, a spiritual son of Elijah's ministry, brought down Jezebel—something Elijah was unable to do on his own. By the time Elisha came on the scene many other prophets were rising up into their callings—unlike Elijah, who was recorded as feeling all alone (although, in fact, he wasn't), showing us just how few relationships there were between Elijah and his contemporaries.

This was not so by the time Elisha received the mantle of Elijah and began to move in power and influence in the nation. Elisha was the most prominent of the spiritual sons of Elijah, and we notice that when Elijah was taken up, Elisha and many of the other prophets who received mentoring in Gilgal, Bethel, Jericho, and Jordan seemed to know each other. Elisha was clearly respected and already recognized as a leader in his generation—moving quickly into a ministry which carried double the miraculous power of Elijah.

I would liken the ministry of Elijah to that of John the Baptist, and the ministry of Elisha to that of Jesus. And it is the ministry of Jesus that we are really after—isn't it? There will always be a need for the forerunner ministry to call people to the next level. But as much as we love, thank God for, and honor the ministries of the saints of the past, we need to reach for the ministry of Jesus in His Body—in the fullness of redemptive character and power today. The entire earth is groaning in anticipation to see this type of ministry in the sons and daughters of God.

We can talk all about the next generation and tell them what they should become until we are blue in the face, but unless we commit ourselves to them and the cause that faces them today (not in the future), they will continue to be held back—or like many of us, try it alone. It's a long, lonely journey without fathers and mothers in the Church who really love and are committed to help you rise up into your calling. I am not suggesting this is not going on now to some degree, but I do believe it is certainly a now priority.

Tell the Youth "Elijah has Come"

I had a spiritual encounter in Germany while doing a conference with Steve Shultz for the first German ElijahList Ministries conference in 2005. My wife Ann and I were resting between sessions on Saturday afternoon. She was reading and I was soaking to worship music in our little room. Suddenly I sat straight up in bed thinking I had just awakened, and said, "Why did you wake me up?" Ann's response was, "I didn't wake you up." And then suddenly the vision I was in came right back at and into me. In the vision a man walked up to me and said, "Tell the youth, 'Elijah has come!'" It exploded in my spirit, awakening something within me.

I had no idea what this could mean at the time and asked Stacey Campbell that afternoon. She said, "Well, the Bible indicates he has come, and he will come. But I am not sure either." Over the next couple of years I watched young men and women intentionally looking and asking for mentoring—father and mother-type relationships in the Body of Christ. They want what Elisha had—relationship with those who have experience in their calling to help them step up and into theirs. They honor and want the experience of mothers and fathers.

They also want to go further than we have gone—but not without a safety net. It's amazing to me the quality and heart of these young leaders—not just their giftedness, which is also incredible. One of the saddest messages I ever saw was on the back of an RV. It said, "We are Spending our Kid's Inheritance!" How heartbreaking and unbiblical. Parents are to lay up for their children—not the other way around.

Freely You Have Received, Freely Give

My prayer for this year and the next few years is this: I pray that fathers and mothers will recognize the emerging leaders in the Body of Christ and reach out to them like Elijah did to Elisha.

Elijah made a commitment to help Elisha rise up into his calling, and Elisha stuck close to Elijah for as long as he could—serving, gleaning, and ministering alongside of him—and then received a double portion. It's time for the next generation to rise up and begin to step into their inheritance. If we do it right, perhaps they will do the same for the next generation. Sadly, Elisha did not. The result was his anointing went to the grave with him instead of being imparted to the next generation. Each generation has its own particular calling and anointing—but the next one needs what the former has.

What do you have that the next generation needs? Is it wisdom in business, a prophetic mantle, gifts of worship or a deep understanding of the Kingdom, etc.? Whatever it is, give it away and insure that it will multiply until we see the fullness of Jesus in His Body.

Denny Cline, Senior Leader
Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Albany
Email: denny@vcfalbany.org

Denny Cline and his wife, Ann, have pastored in Oregon for 20 years. With a team of 27 adults, they planted the Albany Vineyard in 1994, where Denny continues to serve as senior pastor. They have been privileged to experience several awesome visitations of the Holy Spirit, impacting youth and adults alike with healing, salvation, and deliverance.

Denny is known and loved for his simple, compassionate, and yet extravagant approach to Kingdom life. A notorious "God-chaser," he has also led the Albany Vineyard in a bold direction that has birthed many developing ministries and produced a rich harvest of fathers, mothers and children filled with the zeal of the Lord.

Persistence Like a Dog!

One of the meanings of my last name is 'persistent'. Now more than ever, this character of persistence has been brought out and honed 'for such a time as this'. Sometimes I feel like a paki-alamero in the lives of some (or most) of the young men under my cell group because I doggedly watch over their lives, character and behavior like they're my own flesh and blood.

I've never had this kind of concern for young people before. This is God's doing! Hahaha! I used to have a passive role in terms of training and raising up the younger generation of men -- and women -- in our congregation. Now, it's a totally different story.

I believe this is one of my assignments in the Kingdom; that I am to persistently watch over these young men and help them "until the Lord gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them." [Joshua 1:14-15]. I believe that this persistence, as prophesied by my last name, is given to equip me for this task. Otherwise, why would God name me as such.

I'm like a dog these days in the sense that I "go after with the intent to catch", "follow in or as if in pursuit", and "pursue or chase relentlessly" [from thefreedictionary.com]. What am I pursuing? What am I chasing after? What am I doggedly watching over these young men for? I'm after the fulfillment of the destinies that God has intended for these young men. I am after the realization of their purpose in the Lord. I want to see a Nazirite generation raised up right before my eyes during my lifetime. And as long as the Lord enables me to do so, I will continue to persist and doggedly pursue that by keeping tabs on the guys the Lord has entrusted to me.

If the Lord is relentless in pursuing me to see the fulfillment of His plans for me, why shouldn't I do the same for those He has placed under my care? I will do the things I see my Father do. Since He's persistent, so will I be.

DGen: "M" for Maturity

Yeah. We talked about the "M" word during Saturday's cell group meeting. And yes, we went overtime again. But it was a nice time sharing this with the guys. And as I said before, the "M" was not exactly what most had in mind. It was something else. Something that needed immediate attention. Maturity.


+ Definition of Maturity

The state or quality of being fully grown or developed; the state or quality of being mature; adulthood; coming of age; fullness; full bloom; full growth; manhood; the age at which persons are considered competent to manage their own affairs

God has designed you to grow and mature physically, emotionally and spiritually. He created your body and mind to change from infancy to childhood, childhood to adolescence, adolescence into the fullness of your manhood. Throughout your life, there needs to be a constant putting off of the old and the wrong, and the putting on of the new and the right.

“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” [1 Corinthians 13:11-12]

+ What Is Spiritual Maturity?

Spiritual maturity is a process that begins when a person accepts Jesus Christ as Savior.

He or she is born again of the Holy Spirit and then chooses to live "in Christ." The Apostle Paul said that spiritual growth is an ongoing process.

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:12-14).

Even the Apostle Paul had not arrived, yet he continually pressed toward the prize.

+ What Spiritual Maturity is NOT

Being baptized a long time ago.
Intimate knowledge of and belief in your denomination's doctrines.
Going to church services every week.
Being old.
Having a loud voice and domineering personality.
Being a "high ranking" minister.
Being a deacon or deaconess.
Having gray hair and dressing well.
Being a master of the putdown.
Being a great preacher.
Spiritual pedigree.
Hanging out with ecclesiastical big shots.
Being excessively righteous (as in having a religious spirit).
Being wealthy.
Being highly placed in a church hierarchy.
Knowing a lot.

Maturity is marked by a progression in your knowledge and understanding of God, and in your relationship with Him. You are to grow in learning and applying biblical truths in your life and in your intimacy with the Lord.

“So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God.” [Hebrew 6:1 NLT]

Therefore, in order for Christian maturity to develop in your life, you must:

1. make a choice to learn God's Word
2. allow God to renew your mind
3. be obedient to what you learn

Romans 12:1-2 says, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will."

+ What Does Spiritual Maturity Look Like?

Maturity is evidenced by the manifestation of Christ-likeness in your life.

“And it is he who gifted some to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists, and still others to be pastors and teachers, to equip the saints, to do the work of ministry, and to build up the body of the Messiah until all of us are united in the faith and in the full knowledge of God's Son, and until we attain mature adulthood and the full standard of development in the Messiah. Then we will no longer be little children, tossed like waves and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, or by clever strategies that would lead us astray. Instead, by speaking the truth in love, we will grow up completely and become one with the head, that is, one with the Messiah, in whom the whole body is united and held together by every ligament with which it is supplied. As each individual part does its job, the body builds itself up in love.” [Ephesians 4:11-16 ISV]

Spiritual growth is indicated by the appearance of the fruit of the Spirit in your character.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” [Galatians 5:22-23]

Spiritual maturity is learning how to walk in obedience to God. It is making the choice to live by God's viewpoint rather than your human viewpoint.

Galatians 5:16 and 25 give the key, "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature…Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."

The word "walk" in verse 16 is from the Greek word peripateo, which means, "to walk with a purpose in view." The word "walk" in verse 25 is translated from another Greek word stoicheo and it means "step by step, one step at a time." It is learning to walk under the instruction of another. That person is the Holy Spirit. Since believers are indwelt by the Spirit, they should also walk under His control.

+ How Do I Accomplish Maturity in the Spirit?

How can you learn to walk in the Holy Spirit's control? You study God's Word!

2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16-17 instructs us, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth…All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

This is a good practical instruction on how you become spiritually mature. Achieving spiritual maturity is done by choosing to apply God's Word in everyday circumstances. As you walk step-by-step, applying God's Word to your life, you will grow spiritually.

Just as you feed your body daily to make it grow stronger, you also need to feed your spirit to make it grow equally strong, or even stronger. Just as a maturing person progresses in his dietary intake – from milk to solid foods – to cope with the increasing energy needs of his growing body, your spirit also needs a progressive diet to supply nourishment and sustain spiritual growth.

“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” [1 Peter 2:1-3]

But as a growing Christian, you are not to be milk-fed forever. Instead, you are called to chew on the "meat" of God's Word. Discover God's truth by in-depth Bible study and feed yourself spiritually. Then apply that sustenance to your life as you walk in the Holy Spirit.

"Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil" [Hebrews 5:13-14].

+ Spiritual Maturity in Christ

In order to experience spiritual maturity, you must also understand that growth comes by grace and it is God alone who is your Source.

2 Peter 1:3-9 reminds you that God is the source. "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins."

When you became a child of God, you were given all you need "in Christ" to become a spiritually maturing believer. However, you are responsible to make a choice! Will you choose to use and apply God's principles to your life?

The wonderful thing about being in submission to God's maturing process is that you will be changed! You don't have to worry about becoming mature. God does the changing! He will conform you to the image of Jesus Christ as you humbly surrender to His Holy Spirit and learn His Word.

Hebrews 13:20-21 says, "May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."


+ Spiritual maturity should be a priority for you.

- - - - -

an amalgamation of this article and God's download to me.

DGen: One Dream at a Time -- Our Date With Akira Kurosawa

The guys who read about the scheduled cell group activity with Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa were intrigued as to what exactly was going to happen on the January 24 meeting. I gave as little information as I could on my Multiply calendar because I wanted to surprise the guys in the cell.

So we gathered together last Saturday at 4pm in the yellow room in our church building, and in attendance with me and the Lord were Charles, Louie, Elisha, Jason and Ronnie Jr., and, of course, the late Akira Kurosawa, who was anything but late [I wish I could say the same about the "other guys" who came to the cell. hehehe].

We had a wonderful time in praise and worship before we viewed Akira Kurosawa's Dreams. As always, burdens were lifted and cares were cast off in the presence of the Lord. We drew closer to God and He drew closer to us. The presence of the Lord was awesome.

Then, we proceeded with the film showing. There was one Famoso Guerrero who was really eager to press "play" on the laptop to get the movie started. I had to pacify his excitement by telling him to be cool and relax [FG was gushing with enthusiasm].

So, I turned off the lights and hit the play button and we started watching "Sunshine Through the Rain", the first episode in the series of eight "dreams", told in the form of short films [read the synopsis of the first dream].

The room was really quiet with a few whispers here and there, coming mostly from our invited guest and fellow DGen'er [FG!] who was eager to find out what was going on in this first dream. Sunshine Through the Rain was more of a fantasy-type, fable-like dream and it generated a question from the audience.

"I thought all Japanese films were supposed to be scary?" said one of the muffled voices in the room, who has obviously seen way too many scary Japanese films starring the likes of Sadako and Toshio.

"Shhh! Try to pay attention to the film guys, so you'll get the message of it," was my reply to this query.

Their eyes were glued to the wedding procession of the foxes who, according to the woman in the film, conduct this activity every time the sun shines through rain -- hence the title of the episode.

Afterward, the film came to it's open-ended conclusion and the lights came back on. It was discussion time.

I was very excited about what each of the five guys in the cell saw or derived from the film, as I myself have gotten so much revelation and insight from this part of "Dreams". My first question to the group was: what did you like about the short film? What element -- whether visual or thematic -- caught your eye?

Two of the guys in the group -- Jason and Elisha -- said they liked the foxes. I assumed they meant the wedding march as well. Cool! They liked the foxes. Who wouldn't? I mean when you choreograph a wedding march like that, what's not to like? [you gotta see it to know what we're talking about ;o)]

"Anything else?"

Ronnie said he found the film to be a very lonely one. I guess he meant the tone or the atmosphere of it. And to some degree I agree. He also noticed the issue of submission to authority as represented by the woman instructing the young boy to stay out of the rain to avoid seeing the fox procession, because they get "very angry" when someone does. Astute! I noted that as well.

Louie, on the other hand, was smoking hot -- nag aso-aso -- with revelation. I wasn't even able to ask my second question [which was supposed to be about the kingdom principles or insight they got from the film] and he was already firing off. I was secretly laughing at seeing his eagerness and enthusiasm. Lingaw ko.

"So much for my notes," I told the group, as Louie practically shared to the guys what I jotted down on my notebook. Hahaha! But it was all good. Nalipay ra ko with how the Lord spoke to him through the film and how it showed his depth of perception.

Meanwhile, Charles pointed out the young boy's hesitation in the film -- whether to obey the woman and stay indoors or to disobey his authority figure and wander off and check out the foxes' wedding ceremony. Charles said the boy's body language [again, you have to see it to know what we mean] conveyed the inner conflict we have each time we are presented with a choice.

It was a very enjoyable conversation and much longer than I could transcribe here but toward the end, I asked the guys what they saw in the final shot of Sunshine Through the Rain [pictured above].

Louie was quick to point out that it was about hope, thus rendering my notes useless... again! Hahaha! I didn't tell him right away that he was right but waited for the others to reply. The other guys associated the presence of the rainbow with the flood -- the great flood and Noah -- [they thought there were flood waters behind the rainbow in the picture]. Ronnie said something about the end being incomplete [bitin] -- we were never shown if the boy found the foxes -- and forgiveness for that matter -- or if he indeed used the knife to take his own life, to which I said, "that's the cool thing about open-ended conclusions: they open up room for discussion and speculation and it stirs up the viewers imagination."

I went back to Louie and told him he was right. The image was about hope. Then I asked him why he came to that conclusion.

"It's in your notes," he said pointing to my notebook.

"Yeah, I know that! But I'm asking you and I want to know what you think," came my reply.

Louie started to explain his answer, which was way too theological and complicated for me [hahaha], and the guys and I were too blown away with the way he pronounced "plateau" and "artistically" that we all had a good laugh. He was describing the picture in detail and what each detail meant, but I told him to simplify his answer because the answer in the image was very simple.

I explained to the guys that image was about hope because of the presence and implication of the "rainbow". It represented the nature of God as a covenant keeper and that no matter what trials, testing and storms in life we go through, even as a result of our disobedience, God's promises are always there for us. More importantly, He keeps every word of those promises.

Then somebody breaks out in song: "All Your promises won't let go of me!"

And I said, "Amen! That's it!"

I really loved what the Lord did for us that afternoon. He showed me and the guys a lot of things. Among the other things that we noted in the film were as follows:

+ Sin starts out small, but once you indulge in it and get caught up in it's web, you will find that it gets bigger and bigger to the point that you get glued to it. [depicted in the film when the boy first sees the wedding march making a smokey entrance and later fully parades in front of him]

+ Sometimes we never get the gravity of our sin until it looks us in the eye and we see how far we have been taken by our disobedience, which then causes us to realize the truth and flee from sin. [depited in the film when the foxes catch the boy ogling at their wedding march, causing the boy to run from them]

+ The wages of sin is death. When the boy goes back to his house, the woman tells him one of the foxes visited and left him a knife. The boy was supposedly to kill himself with it for seeing something "he should not have" [man, haven't we done this too many times in our lives! hahaha!].

+ Never take the delegated authority -- of your parents and leaders -- for granted because it keeps you covered and protected.

+ We Christians are called the bride of Christ. One of the things the Lord revealed to us that afternoon was that as a bride, we can choose to be either married to Christ or married to sin.

We ended the meeting by praying for each other... and that constitutes another blog entry altogether.

For now, I want to give God all the glory for what He is doing in the lives of these young men. He is the true Cell Group Leader, the Trainer, the Teacher. And He's doing a great and mighty thing in this Davidic Generation.




- - - - -

By the way, the name "Akira" means "bright", "intelligent", or "clear".

DGen Lesson: Adding and Increasing [Part 3]

[…continued from this post; part three of this series…]


...and to self-control, perseverance;...
+ Perseverance – related to endurance, patience and long-suffering – comes after one learns (and continuously receives grace) to exercise restraint in several, if not all areas of life. That should be the case because it takes a lot of discipline to endure hardship, continue in the midst of trials, and move forward when everything in life pounces on you and screams at you to quit.

Perseverance entails consistency, constancy and commitment. All other characteristics in Peter’s list will amount to nothing if perseverance is not combined with faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, godliness, brotherly kindness and love. This ingredient is important in the recipe of making every effort to grow. All will become useless if we lose perseverance and give up pursuing God.

...and to perseverance, godliness;...
+ Josiah pointed out that the addition of godliness in Peter’s list serves as a goal, an end that the character of perseverance aims for. We need to persevere toward godliness. But I added that we also need godliness in order to persevere… toward godliness [yes. It is paradoxical but I believe that’s how it works].

The pursuit of godliness in our lives gives us focus on what is really important – knowing God and being conformed to the image of His Son. Godliness is the vertical component of our life, relating to God, spirit to spirit.

...and to godliness, brotherly kindness;...
+ Of course, loving God should not just be manifested in our personal relationship with Him. Peter puts brotherly kindness in the mix so that the overflow of our love relationship with the Father is evidenced by our love for our fellow man. Brotherly kindness – when we relate to those around us the way the Lord would have us do – is the horizontal component of our life.

In the same way that godliness should not be a stand-alone character in a Christian, brotherly kindness should not be a separate trait in those who profess to follow Christ. Living totally for the Lord without the benefit of receiving and giving love to others would be incomplete if we don’t live for others and love others out of our love for God.

I found it funny, nay amusing, that on one of my one-on-one sessions a particular Famoso Guerrero was caught speechless, rather tight-lipped, when we discussed this part of the passage. In fact, his silence said more than what little he spoke at the time. But I continued to tell him that brotherly love should not be limited to those who are biologically connected to us (our siblings) but also to rest of mankind, who are our brothers and sisters in God's huge family.

Perhaps Guerrero was getting some insights from the Lord at that time about a particular brotherly (or sisterly???) relationship. I'll never know. He wouldn't tell me... even to this day.


… to be continued …

DGen Lesson: Adding and Increasing [Part 2]

[...continued from this post...]


...and to knowledge, [add] self-control;...
+ You know the Spider-Man adage that goes, "with great power, comes great responsibility"? Well, if knowledge is power, then one needs to exercise great responsibility in the form of self-control when handling knowledge.

As with any other form of power, knowledge -- the acquisition and application of it -- can be abused and misused. It can give a person a puffed up ego [1 Corinthians 8:1]. It can be a source of pride and can therefore lead to one's downfall.

The exertion of self-control over our accumulated information, facts and learning is intended to keep us sober in our estimation of ourselves. We are not the source of knowledge after all but merely conduits of it. And it is God who gives us the ability to receive wisdom, understanding and knowledge.

I believe Peter also urges us to practice self-control in other areas of our lives, not just in handling knowledge. There is a serious need to practice self-control in our speech, in our conduct, in our thoughts, in the way we filter what comes into our minds and what goes out of mouths. Without self-control there is no order in one's life.

As Christians -- as followers of Christ -- we can't just do whatever pleases us and still represent Jesus. If we truly want to let our light shine, we have to have control or exercise control of what little darkness there is left within us. God's word helps us stretch our self-control muscles. The Bible shows us how to do that.

We need to read the Bible -- everyday -- to have the knowledge needed to control our wayward human nature.

This is why adding self-control to knowledge keeps us from abusing what we know, and adding knowledge to self-control makes us better at keeping the bad stuff at bay.


...to be continued...

DGen Lesson: Adding and Increasing [Part 1]

I had a wonderful time discussing 2 Peter 1:3-13 during my one on one sessions with the guys under me in the cell group, and my co-cell leader. It's amazing how such a few verses can bring out such rich revelation from the Lord. Here are some of the things I was able to discuss with the guys...

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness...
+ All that we need for our physical life and spiritual life has been given by God. Everything. There is no lack.

...through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness...
+ Our availment of all the things God gave to us for life and godliness is limited by how much we know Him. If we only have a 10% knowledge of God, we can only avail of that much of the things He has given us. We are limited in how much we received from God by what we know of Him. If we don't know Him as Jehovah Rophe, our Healer, we will never be able to avail of His provision for healing. If we don't know Him as Jehovah Shalom, our Peace, we will never get to know His peace that passes all understanding.

We have to know Him more so we can know what else is included in the all-the-things-He-has-given-us-for-life-and-godliness package, and know how to avail of them and use them. Josiah used the analogy of a medicine kit -- everything is already in there but we have to know what it has in there and know how to use those.

...Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises,...
+ This is part of package. This is part of everything we need for life and godliness. And the more we increase in our knowledge of God, the more we will increase in our knowledge of the promises He has made to us. Promises which He will definitely keep. Promises like "I will never leave you nor forsake you [Joshua 1:5]." Promises like "I know the plans I have for you; plan to prosper you, not to harm you; plans to give you a hope and a future [Jeremiah 29:11]." Promises like "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you [John 15:7]."

...so that through them you may participate in the divine nature...
+ The package God gave us, our increasing knowledge of Him, and the certainty of the promises He made to us, are there to help us partake and share His divine nature -- that of holiness, love, compassion, graciousness, etc. He has promised to sanctify us and make us holy... it enables us to participate in His nature of holiness. He has promised to make grace abound in our lives... it enables us to partake in His nature of graciousness and be gracious to others. He has promised to change us from glory to glory... it enables us to grow and radiate in the fullness of His glory.

...and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires...
+ Those very same promises also enable us to avoid the evil in the world by the killing off of our selfish, carnal and wicked desires. When we receive His promise of sanctifying us [making us holy] through the Holy Spirit, it also enables us to avoid the unholy things that we have the natural tendency to do. His promise of providing a way out of every temptation enables us to escape the corruption in the world. It means that our resilience against the world, the devil and the flesh exponentially grows when we grow in our knowledge of Him -- we are helped in our flight from evil. And there are many more promises in the Word that give us authority and power to overcome the world's corruption.

...For this very reason, make every effort...
+There is a reason why Peter includes this statement. The Christian life is not a passive life. We are not supposed to be sitting down and let God do everything. He already did everything, but God's Word always urges Christians to action with words like "fight", "run", "take", "go". "Make every effort" is no different.

Although God is in control of everything, and Jesus is the the Author and Finisher of our faith, and the Holy Spirit is the One who brings spiritual growth, every citizen of the Kingdom is still required to do their part in getting to spiritual maturity. This is a choice every Christian must make. No one can do this for you -- not your father; not your mother; not your pastor or cell group leader, not even the Lord. This is about choice. We either decide to make every effort to grow or don't make an effort at all. No one can make this effort for you.

...to add to your faith goodness;...
+ We all have a measure of faith given to us when we receive Jesus' Lordship in our lives. The more we feed our spirit, the better that faith grows. But why add goodness to it? Well, the guys spoke to said that goodness is the way we show our faith. The Bible does say that faith without works is dead. Faith is useless if it is kept within with no manifestation outside. That's why we need to let our invisible faith translate into visible actions -- more appropriately, through good works.

...and to goodness, knowledge;...
+ Josiah pointed out that we need knowledge in order to know what good thing to do and how to do that good thing. Ronnie, on the other hand, said that the way we know God affects the way we do good things, which to me means either you don't know God and the good things you do become religious acts, or you do know God and the good things you do become an act of worship to Him.

Knowledge gives goodness focus. Knowledge gives goodness direction. Knowledge gives goodness purpose.

. . . to be continued

We Teach

This is part of the Great Commission. And we are all called to do it. Some may be more anointed for it than others, but that doesn't make that an excuse to not teach. It's the same with evangelism. It's the same with healing, and preaching. We're all called to do it regardless of the levels of anointing.

So, we teach. We teach the young to mature. We teach the lost the way to salvation. We teach children to obey their parents; wives to submit to husbands; husbands to love their wives. We teach humility to the arrogant. We teach self-control to the willfull. We teach people to praise and worship in spirit and in truth.

We teach.

Without the passing on of what the older generation knows to the younger one, there will be much more than just culture, education and heritage that will be lost. The greatest price that will be paid for the lack -- and, God forbid, absence -- of instruction is the loss of vision. And the Bible says that without vision, God's people perish.

We teach.

The Elisha generation are a fledgling batch of prophets, preachers, teachers, apostle and pastors in the making. They are presidents, governors, engineers, nurses, businessmen, policemen and artists in seed form. We teach them so they can learn what we have learned from God through our own mentors and leaders. We teach them so they can stand on their own two feet, then onto our shoulders and see much farther than we ever saw, go farther than we ever went, and reach higher than we ever reached.

We teach.

We pass not only the baton to the Joshua generation but also the vision the Lord has given the Moses generation. We pass on the wisdom and the discipline. We pass on the courage and the faith. We pass on the pursuit and the perseverance. We pass it on through teaching.

We teach.

We serve by teaching. We serve by imparting. We serve by rebuking, correcting, instructing and training. But all this is useless if the Timothy generation do not receive from the Paul generation. No amount of teaching can ever penetrate a heart shut up by pride and apathy. Our words cannot reach a mind set on things other than Kingdom things. But we still teach.

We teach...

...not because it is easy, but because it is essential. We teach not because it is a chore, but because it is a calling. We teach not because it is wanted, but because it is needed. We teach what we know, what we have received from the Lord in the hopes that the vision will be caught and catch on.

We teach.

We have to.

We must.

We need to.

We will.

We are.





We teach.

You Know You Can Hear God

James W. Goll:
"Our Geiger Counter of Guidance: Hearing the Voice of God"
from the Elijah List website


Thank you for all of your prayers for my family and me in this season of adjustment. One thing I have always tried to do is remember the ABC's, especially when change is happening all around me. That is why I want to share an excerpt from The Beginner's Guide to Hearing God, titled "Geiger Counter of Guidance."

In these times we need to be moving according to the leadings of the Spirit and not moved by the media, world events, people's opinions or the latest news report. We need to, like John the Beloved, lean our head upon the chest of our Messiah, listening for the very heartbeat of God and cultivating a friendship with Jesus.

True guidance is not just a one-time thing or a one-time event - it is finding the Guide Himself. Remember, Jesus did nothing of Himself. He only did those things which He saw the Father doing. This is our model and example. Let us "look to see" what our Father is initiating. Then we need to DO IT!

These are times when we truly need divine guidance and wisdom. For some solid foundations in this area of discerning the voice of God, I encourage you to read The Beginner's Guide to Hearing God. It is an excellent source to start learning how to hear the voice of God.

May you grow in your knowledge of the love of Jesus this week as you listen to His heart!

In Christ Jesus!

James W. Goll

Our Geiger Counter of Guidance

"Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him. O people in Zion, inhabitant in Jerusalem, you will weep no longer. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you.

"Although the Lord has given you the bread of privation and water of oppression, He, your Teacher, will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will behold your Teacher. And your ears will hear a word behind you, 'This is the way, walk in it,' whenever you turn to the right or to the left." Isaiah 30:18-21

Perhaps you have come a long way in your journey of learning to hear God's voice. But as for my life, I always have to review the A, B, C's! Reflect back with me for a moment...from the starting block of realizing our need to hear God, we became familiar with our personal tutor, the Holy Spirit, given to guide us into all truth.

Yes, there are many courses to take in the lost art of hearing God. We must have a working knowledge of the Word of God. We must have the spirit of revelation, according to Ephesians 1:17-19. But now I want to give you some important guidance lessons for wisdom for the journey. We have been given a "Geiger Counter of Guidance."

Hear the Clicking?

Do you remember playing games as a child? One child would be blindfolded and the others kind of steering them around. Some object in the room would be selected and the one blindfolded would have to try to find it. Shouts of, "HOT!", "No, COLD!" proceeded from the children participating in the room. Hot, of course, meant you were getting closer to the desired object. Cold meant you were going in the wrong direction. It was fun, remember?

There is an interesting instrument called a Geiger counter. Its use is actually similar to the game I just described. A German physicist invented the Geiger counter in 1945. It is an instrument used for detecting the presence and intensity of radiation (as cosmic rays or particles from a radioactive substance) by means of the ionizing effect on an enclosed gas, which results in a pulse that is amplified and fed to a device giving visible or audible indications. The thing I remember is the distinct clicking sound it makes.

The closer you get to the substance and the greater intensity of its matter, the louder and faster the clicking noise becomes. I have often thought that is a lot like hearing God's voice once you put all the pieces together. There is an inner witness that you learn to pay attention to. You check in with the Holy Spirit; you listen to your "knower"; and you bear witness or you don't. When you are filled with the Holy Spirit there is a divine guidance system that comes with the package.

Are you getting warmer - closer to the desired subject?

Or are you getting colder - further away from the will of God?

Do you hear the clicking...?

Ten Principles of Divine Guidance to Help you Find God, Not Just His Will

Number One: The Will of God is Made Known in the Word of God.

Now let's start by getting real basic. One day you read in Exodus 20:14, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." That registers in your spirit and remains. Not long after, you are walking in the mall and you hear some inner nudge say something like, "Look at that person. They really want you!"

But because the Scripture is hidden in your heart, it is easy to reject that thought. You don't even have to evaluate whether that voice was God, you know it isn't. You know because you have read the Word and have hidden it in your heart. So our first guidance principle is always the will of God is made known in the Word of God. God's Word is the final judge in all guidance.

Number Two: The Will of God is Confirmed through Circumstances.

Years ago in my senior year of college, I was quite zealous for the Lord. I probably needed a little bit more tethering in those days, but I was so on fire for God and I didn't care anymore about the pursuit of credentials in this life. I was ready to quit college at the end of my first trimester of my senior year, needing only 20 more hours to complete my degree.

I was ready to quit university, but I diligently sought the Lord's direction. "Oh God, I just want to forget this stuff and get on with my real calling." I don't know for sure how I said it, but it was something like that with an addendum: "But if You want me to finish out this year, I bid You to do something. Show me Your will!"

Then a surprising thing happened. I was ready to quit in November with only six months to go till graduation. Somehow I received another scholarship and was given a Religious Leadership Scholarship at a secular university to help me financially complete the rest of my year. So I decided, "That's a pretty good circumstantial sign. I'd better go ahead and complete what I have finished!"

I realize there are some exceptions to this one, but God does guide us circumstantially as well. I'm glad I completed that degree.

Number Three: The Holy Spirit Speaks from Where He Dwells.

Where does God dwell? God not only dwells in Heaven, but if you are a child of God, and if you've been filled with the Holy Spirit, He lives within you. According to 1 Corinthians 6:19, "We are the Temple of the Living God." He speaks to us from where He dwells. Where does God dwell? Colossians 1:27 tells us plainly, "Christ in us is the hope of glory" (Scriptures paraphrased).

Have you listened to your heart lately? What is beating in your heart? The Holy Spirit is Heaven's Representative in all-true guidance. John 16:13 states, "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come."

Number Four: Divine Guidance Comes from Meeting God's Conditions.

Isaiah 58 is an incredible passage of Scripture where God's chosen fast is brilliantly described in detail. It speaks about honoring God and the observance of the Sabbath. Removing the pointing of the finger and feeding the poor are also addressed. Several key conditions and the attitudes required are listed.

Then God's corresponding promise is listed in Isaiah 58:11, "And the LORD will continually guide you." But the conditions are listed first.

The passage quoted at the beginning of this chapter (Isaiah 30) gives us marvelous promises: The Lord will be gracious to you; He will be your Teacher; You will hear a word behind you. On and on it goes... But conditions are laid out that must be met as well. "When He hears the sound of your cry..."

What are the conditions that must be met for your promise to be unlocked? Has He heard you really cry out to Him? Meet the conditions and His eye will surely guide you.

Number Five: True Guidance is Accompanied by the Peace of God.

There is peace in the midst of a storm. Peace does not mean there is no storm. Peace does not mean there's no warfare either. There is a center of quiet that is in the midst of the turbulence of life. True guidance from God does not push you; it brings peace and satisfaction.

James 3:17 remarks, "...the wisdom (which comes down) from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy." I love the order. Pure, peaceable, gentle... Isn't that everything you would want hearing God to be all about? Don't you want to bear good fruit?

Number Six: Much Guidance from God Comes Unaware.

Much of our guidance comes undetected. We're often unaware that we are being guided. Why? Because of His marvelous ways! Also because we've asked Him to continually guide us! We want to do His will.

Psalm 25:9 wisely depicts, "He leads the humble in justice, and teaches the humble His way." I love the ways of God. Again, a condition is spoken which unlocks the provision. Humility is the doorway whereby we learn not just the will of God, but the ways of God.

Thank You, Lord, for Your gentle nudges, whispers in the night and even what seems like pushes and shoves at times. Even Your electric cattle prodding's are wonderful. Thanks for guiding us even when we did not acknowledge it was You.

Number Seven: Divine Guidance Does Not Mean We Know All the Details.

Oh-oh, that isn't what you wanted to hear. Now the Lord wants us, in a sense, to have a rooftop view. But along the way it's often only the knotholes that we get to look through. There are those special times perhaps, in revelatory giftings and experiences that we see A, B, C and even see a portion of the end of the matter of X, Y and Z. These experiences are for a great, awesome purpose. They're to ruin your life, so that you will never, ever be able to be a successful, boring Christian again. You will know you have a destiny in God and you will pursue the God of destiny no matter what!

But most of the time, you will only see what is in front of you. A word of wisdom - enjoy life. Life is more than just another meeting or hot word. Life is precious. Live it to the fullest and for His ultimate glory!

Number Eight: The Process of Guidance is Not Always Pleasant.

Isaiah 55:8-9 declares, "...My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,' declares the LORD. 'As the heavens are higher the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.'"

There is Good News though. The New Testament teaches us that we can have the "mind of Christ." But still, guidance isn't always pleasant. He calls us to authentic apostolic lifestyles where bearing our cross is not a pain but a delight.

God has made a decision in His walk with you, that you will never remain in a static position. And when you start freezing up, God just says, "Change!" That's when guidance doesn't appear to be very pleasant, because there are breakings that occur.

Then it's time to choose His way over our way. It might seem painful for the moment, but the end result will be His life expressed through us in exchange for our own efforts. Choose Life. Choose His ways!

Number Nine: Hearing God Speak Should Prompt You to Action.

Daniel 11:32b promises, "but the people who know their God will display strength and take action." I want to be a person of faith and who does exploits in the name of the Lord. Don't you?

If there's been a failure or a fumbling, cry out for the great mercy of God. I've been learning our God is the God of the fiftieth chance. His mercies are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness. Wash yourself in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and learn from the past. But forgetting what lies behind, press forward into the upward call of Christ Jesus. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the words of Christ. Let's show that we are a genuine community of faith and get to movin' for Jesus' sake!

Number Ten: Guidance is a Skill to Be Learned Over a Lifetime.

It's not a one-time experience where you heard God speak once and then you rehearse the same old testimony all the rest of your life! It is a skill to be learned over a lifetime and passed on to others.

One time I was sitting at my office desk getting ready for an appointment when the Holy Spirit whispered to me, "You are now hearing Me through a gift." Interesting. So I listened some more since a gift was being activated! The still small voice continued, "But when it comes to you and Me, I speak to you through a relationship."

Be like John the Beloved and lean your head upon the chest of your Messiah and Master. Listen for the very heartbeat of God. Cultivate a friendship with Jesus. True guidance is not just a one-time thing or a one-night stand, it is finding the Guide Himself.

Here is my parting word of wisdom: Hearing the voice of God is a lifetime relationship that can never be taken away.

Blessings and Grace,

James W. Goll
Encounters Network
Email: info@encountersnetwork.com



ElijahList Publications
310 2nd Ave SE,
Albany, OR 97321
http://www.elijahlist.com/
email: info@elijahlist.net
Phone 1-541-926-3250

DGen Lesson: Discipline

Last Saturday the cell group discussed the topic of discipline using Herbews 12:7-12 as the springboard. The Lord gave me this word to share to the guys just hours before and I really believe it was a "now" word. I see in the spirit that many young men and women in this generation dislike discipline -- they don't even like the concept of the word.

Of course being the older man that I am now [33, thank you!] I am in a position to say that discipline that comes from parents most of the time brings good results to one's life. More importantly, my physical age also puts me in the vantage point of seeing the inevitability and infallibility of the discipline that comes from the Heavenly Father.

Lately, the Lord is seemingly placing me in the position of rebuker-corrector-reprimander of the young men in our church. Believe me, this is something I didn't ask for and if I could, I would give these duties to the likes of our drummer Caloy (who can really hammer in the truths of the Kingdom like no one's business) or our youth pastor Nap (who commands more respect).

But you know, God, in His infinite wisdom, chooses the foolish things of this world to shame the wise; He chooses the weak things of this world to shame the strong; and, apparently, He also uses the former non-confrontational, former laid back ones to dispense heavens proverbial rods on the rear ends of the semi-straying sheep. Yes! God does uses the foolish. Haha!

In the course of the discussion, we saw in the passage that no one is really excempt from discipline -- everyone receives it. More importantly though, we also saw that God's discipline is actually a form of love, because He is treating us as sons and daughters.

Below is the passage from Hebrews [12:7-12] with some of the revelations and ideas the Lord gave me:


Endure hardship as discipline;
-- discipline comes in many forms but is always accompanied by hardship, because the flesh is always resisting it

God is treating you as sons.
-- scripture says God disciplines those He loves. His correction is always motivated by compassion

For what son is not disciplined by his father?
-- this, to me, is a rhetorical question. I believe that fathers are "correctional" by nature

If you are not disciplined
-- no order comes into your life; no boundaries are set; chaos ensues

(and everyone undergoes discipline),
-- like I said above, no one is excempt

then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.
-- would a father care as much for an illegitimate child as much as he would his own flesh and blood?

Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us
-- and, as imperfect as they are, they have every right to rebuke us because they are reponsible and accountable for us

and we respected them for it.
-- if we have chosen to respond the right way. The quality of the life we live depends on the kind of choices we make. We can choose life or death; blessings or curses. Our response to discipline also determines how we grow and mature, how far we will reach in life and how fruitful we become in the spirit

How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!
-- and we know that He never fails, never does anything that will harm us, and always wants to bless us. Instead of running away from God when He rebukes us, we need to humble ourselves and sumbit to His loving correction, because in Him we live and move and have our being

Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best;
-- and even if they weren't perfect persons, their intentions -- which include seeing their children raised to be upstanding citizens and teaching them to stand on their own feet -- are noble

but God disciplines us for our good,
-- which is why we should always ask for God's grace to respond to discipline the Jesus way: in humility, obedience and submission. Because in the long run, we are the beneficiaries of said correction

that we may share in his holiness.
-- and why shouldn't we? He's a holy God after all and He requires us to be holy as well. Discipline helps us get there

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.
-- amen to that! But the trick is to see beyond the discomfort and the pain, and lift one's vision higher to the end result. We are more than now creatures; we were made for eternity, so having a forever mindset will set everything in perspective

Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace
-- and this is why it would be foolish to run away from hardship, challenges and testings: you'd miss out on the harvest; you'd miss out on your inheritance; you'd miss out the character development; you'd miss out ... A LOT!

for those who have been trained by it.
-- again, our response is crucial. If we see every trial and tribulation as a test of our fortitude, as an opportunity to grow and learn, and as a chance to see God move in our lives, our perspective towards discipline will totally be revolutionized

Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.
-- the whole point of discipline is this! To strengthen us, never to weaken us.

DGen Lesson: Accountability

Ø Text: Matthew 25:14-30


Ø Also called “responsibility”


Ø Liable to be required to give account, as of one's actions or of the discharge of a duty or trust; involving personal accountability or ability to act without guidance or superior authority; able to make moral or rational decisions on one's own and therefore answerable for one's behavior; able to be trusted or depended upon


Ø God gave you “talents” – these include spiritual and physical gifts, abilities, prophetic words, revelations, skills, anointing, resources, time and many other spiritual tools. He bestowed these to you to use for His glory and for His Kingdom

---> God entrusts us with talents according on our abilities. In the parable, the servants were given different amounts. Each person's talent is different. There should be no comparison of what each of us is entrusted with because each one has something unique


Ø The Lord is the one who adds the increase and He is the one who allows you produce good fruit. However, He expects you to responsibly and faithfully use, manage and cultivate what you have been entrusted with

---> We are called to be stewards of the things God lends us, and to be accountable for whatever little that the Lord has entrusted us [in relationships, blessings, abilities, talents]


Ø The Lord will hold you responsible and will require an accounting for how you have used the “talents” He has placed in your hands. He expects a multiplication of what He gave

---> We should be concerned about what we are doing with what has been entrusted to us, and not compare ourselves and our talents with others’

---> ”After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.” [v. 19 of Parable of the Talents, Matthew 25:14-30]


Ø Two things that kept the 'one talent' servant from being a productive steward:

---> Fear: "I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground." [v. 25]
------> Fear is the enemy of faith. Fear always hinders us from being productive.

---> Passivity: "So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest." [vv. 26-27]
------> The servant "knew" but he didn't do anything about his knowledge. He became passive and passivity never leads to fruitfulness.


Ø He will also hold you accountable for every word that comes out of your mouth, every action that you do, and your responses to life situations. But most importantly, He will ask you what you did with Jesus in your life

DGen Lesson: Intimacy part. 2 [Love is the Protest]

After the topic of intimacy with the Lord was discussed in the cell group, the Lord impressed upon my heart the following week that the love of many have grown cold (Matthew 24:10-12), and that many have also lost focus on the main thing -- their relationship with Jesus.

He kept pointing me back to Matthew 22:37-38 where Jesus says, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment."

Josiah (one of the guys in the group) pointed out that one cannot pursue intimacy without love. He was right. If the love of many has grown cold, then the fire of intimacy cannot burn ablaze. How can any relationship mature and deepen if the foundation of unconditional love is absent?

Love is so essential to everything we do for God. Everything we do for God should be an overflow of our love for Him. Our love for Him should propel us toward a more intimate relationship with our Creator.

This was the focal point of last Saturday’s cell group meeting – our love for God has to be kept the main thing. The fires of intimacy has to be constantly fueled with our affections and decision to love God. After all, our relationship with God should be the main course, not a side dish.

Henry Blackaby in the book Experiencing God put it this way: if our love relationship with God isn’t right, nothing else in our life will be right.

So, if we are in a status quo of coldness or of being lukewarm before God, we can always break out of that and fan the flames of our love relationship with the Almighty. Let us oppose complacency and nonchalance. That’s not the nature of God’s love. His love is progressive and active. We should be, too.

Let our love for God be our protest.

Finding Timothy

“You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” 2 Timothy 2:1-3


The leadership in the congregation I am part of is very emphatic about training and mentoring the next generation of men and women who will carry on the vision the Lord has given our house. From our senior pastor to our cell group leaders, each one of us is encouraged to “produce their own kind”.

I have been a cell group leader for over four months now and it has been a privilege and a challenge for me to oversee 11 teenagers – young men who show such great potential for the Kingdom of God. I enjoy meeting with them as a group, spending time with them one on one, texting them, chatting with them, encouraging them, giving them hugs, sharing the Word of God with them. It is a joy.

However, there is another facet of this dynamic that is new to me – handling problems and individual issues of each young man. These are teenagers, man! Anyone who has been through puberty knows this stage of life is anything but stable. I’ve had to counsel some of these young men in the area of relationships with the opposite sex, parental issues, questions about their identity, evangelism issues and so much more (and believe me, THERE IS SO MUCH MORE. Hahaha. You have no idea how much I am learning about the power of prayer these days! HAHAHA).

In the midst all of these twists and turns, ups and downs, and ins and outs of overseeing these guys in their conundrums and guiding them to the right path – path which Jesus is on – I’ve also been given by God the task of finding “reliable men” to whom I can pass on and entrust the things He has entrusted to me.

I read in a discipleship booklet that every Christian should be asking two questions: “Who is my Paul?” and “Who is my Timothy?” Each one of us should be aware who our Paul is – the one who is mentoring us and from whom we receive training and instruction in the Lord. At the same time, we should also be on the look out for our Timothy – those whom God gives us to mentor, train and instruct.

In the interest of producing after my own kind, the Lord has been showing me potential Timothies in our congregation – young men who exhibit faithfulness, availability and teachability. I have been asking God if these indeed are the ones He has assigned me to take under my wing, so to speak.

God has already shown me my Pauls (I have more than one). And I have been greatly blessed, instructed and equipped through them. Now it’s time to pass on what I have to “men who will also be qualified to teach others”.

I believe Timothy is just around the corner.

DGen Lesson: Intimacy

Intimacy

Ø A feeling of being intimate and belonging together; close or warm friendship; marked by close acquaintance, association, or familiarity; relating to or indicative of one's deepest nature; is very personal; involves someone you can confide private matters to; involves thorough acquaintance through study or experience


Ø The key to intimacy is RELATIONSHIP


Ø God is constantly pursuing an intimate, personal relationship with you. He is a God of love and His very nature is love. He demonstrated this love when He started working on restoring what Adam lost in the Garden of Eden – intimate communion with God. Your Creator has been reaching out to you to restore your love relationship with Him


-----> "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” [John 3:16 NASB]

-----> “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” [1 John 4:9-10]


Ø God (being your Creator) commands you (His creation) to love Him. Jesus echoes this in the New Testament as the greatest commandment


-----> “Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.” [Matthew 22:37-38 NIV]

-----> The NASB has this translation of the same verse: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.' This is the most important, the first on any list.”


Ø This command to love God and have an intimate relationship with Him does not come from selfish motives. Instead, it comes from a heart that does not only love you but also wants to bless you and give you all He is and has


-----> “It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom!” [Luke 12:32]


Ø Intimacy is not a one-way relationship where God is the only one in pursuit of man. Intimacy means that we also lovingly and wholeheartedly pursue God. It is not a one-way relationship where only one party is doing the talking. True intimacy is a two-way relationship between God and man involving a two-way communication


-----> “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” [James 4:8 NASB]


Ø God wants you to have an intimate love relationship and friendship with Him. He wants you to spend time with Him and intimately communicate with Him, to enjoy fellowship with Him, to trust and follow Him, so He can give your life meaning and purpose.


-----> “For in him we live and move and have our being.” [Acts 17:28]


Ø Intimacy involves (but is not limited to) the following:

-----> a desire to truly know God [Psalm 63:1-3]
-----> a hunger and thirst for His presence [Matthew 5:6]
-----> transparency or complete honesty before the Lord [Psalm 51:6]
----------+ telling Him your feelings, fears, worries, joys, excitement, etc.
----------+ giving Him your burdens without holding back
----------+ confessing sin, asking forgiveness, repenting
-----> communication with God [Matthew 6:5-15]
----------+ talking to Him (in prayer, in thought)
----------+ listening to Him (through His word, circumstances, other people)
----------+ waiting on Him in prayerful quietness (being still before Him)
-----> a willingness to let God take complete control of your life [Psalm 37:5-7]
----------+ allowing Him to point out and expose areas in your life that are not pleasing to Him
----------+ asking Him to take over your circumstances, emotions and personality
----------+ letting Him truly become Savior, Lord and King of your life
-----> loving God [1 John 4:16 and Deuteronomy 6:5]
-----> obeying God [1 John 2:3-6]



Ø Your level of intimacy with the Lord will determine your level of growth in these areas:

-----> Spiritual maturity
-----> Emotional security
-----> Divine authority
-----> Revelatory clarity
-----> Enduring victory


Ø Your intimacy with God is the most important thing in your life. Everything else hinges on this one key factor in your Christian walk. If your personal love relationship with Him isn’t right, nothing else in your life will be right either.



Ø God seeks you out to have a relationship with you and it is in this relationship that He can strengthen, encourage and empower you; make you complete, give you rest and security, give you directions and guidance; save, heal and deliver you.